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Norway to give men and women’s national football teams equal pay

An agreement by Norway’s male international footballers to take a pay cut to enable equal wages to be given to both the men and women’s national sides has been described as “internationally unique”.

Norway to give men and women’s national football teams equal pay
Composite: Lise Åserud, Heiko Junge / NTB scanpix

From 2018 the days of unequal pay on Norway’s male and female international football teams are over.

The Norwegian Football Association (Norges Fotballforbund) announced in a press release on Friday that national players will be paid equally as of next year, writes newspaper Aftenposten.

“I just think it should be done this way. I think it could help them a lot. We want Norwegian football in future. The ladies team is just as important as us,” men’s national team captain Stefan Johansen told broadcaster NRK.

The current agreement between the Norwegian FA and the men’s team pays 6.55 million kroner (700,000 euros) to the male players, while the women’s team receives 3.1 million kroner (330,000 euros) through a grant arrangement, reports Aftenposten.

With Johansen and his team mates agreeing to give 550,000 kroner of their collective pay to the women’s side and an increase in the grant, the pay of players on both teams will level out at five million kroner across the board as of next year, according to the report.

Women’s international Ingrid Moe Wold praised the equal pay initiative.

“This is good news and will make a big difference to the conditions of playing for the national team. It comes at a very important point in the development of women’s football in Norway. Better conditions will make it easier for more players to prioritise more training and focus on football in their everyday lives,” Moe Wold told Aftenposten.

Norwegian FA president Terje Svendsen said he was proud of the decision while Joachim Walltin, leader of the NISO player’s union, called it “unique” internationally.

Retired Norway striker Egil Østenstad also praised the initiative in a Twitter post, writing that it was “the best piece of maths this week”.

READ ALSO: Norwegian female business leaders earn 77 percent of male counterparts' salary: report

RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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